Atascadero News • February 26, 2020

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Hometown News Since 1916 Making Communities Better Through Print.™ VOL. CIV, NO. VII

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2020

ELECTION 2020

District 5 Supervisor Candidate Q&A The Editorial Board of the Atascadero News recently sat down with the two candidates for District 5 County Supervisor, Ellen Beraud and Debbie Arnold, for a question and answer session about their campaigns and their stance on various issues affecting the whole of San Luis Obispo County and the North County in particular. The current Editorial Board, made up of Atascadero News Publishers Nicholas and Hayley Mattson and Senior Editor Luke Phillips, posed the same list of questions to each candidate. Candidates were given one minute to answer with leeway provided to finish a thought and the responses were limited to approximately 100 words. The candidate’s answers were recorded verbatim and transcriptions for each of the candidates are provided below:

ELLEN BERAUD

atascaderonews.com • $1.00 • WEEKLY

DOWNTOWN

Rising From the Rubble

DEBBIE ARNOLD

Beraud calls for change, advocates for responsible leadership

Arnold continues call for small government, fiscal responsibility

ATASCADERO NEWS: What is your campaign slogan? ELLEN BERAUD: Smart, Honest Leadership

ATASCADERO NEWS: What is your campaign slogan? DEBBIE ARNOLD: I guess I’ll put my four killers in there — I want smaller, more efficient government, I want to ensure that we’re being responsible for taxpayers’ dollars and eliminating programs that haven’t worked. It’s important to me that… transparency in government and so forth and that I can really be a good representative to the people that I represent, which is the constituents.

AN: What is your campaign platform? EB: We need change in District 5. What we’ve seen so far has not brought us further along in terms of building our economy and protecting our environment. Those are not front and center in District 5 and they should be. We have to be a government that works for the people.

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Construction workers hoisted steel beams into place beginning last week as the framing process for the first building of the La Plaza project got under way. Photo by Luke Phillips

La Plaza project back on track after hiccups. By LUKE PHILLIPS luke@atascaderonews.com ATASCADERO — After a few hiccups caused mostly by inclement weather, the La Plaza development in downtown Atascadero is back on track. Last week construction workers raised steel beams into the air as the framing process began, adding a new structure to the Atascadero skyline. Z Villages is the developer behind the project, a family-owned and run

business with the Zappas family — Mike, Max and Zoe — at the helm. Construction on the La Plaza project started in October with workers installed underground utilities and laying the foundations for the development’s two large buildings but Zoe Zappas told the Atascadero News that a couple of big winter storms slowed things down considerably. “So that’s why there wasn’t a whole lot of action happening until pretty recently,” Zappas said. “The rain came

BUSINESS

at an unfortunate time because we were ready to pour (the foundations) and then we couldn’t pour the concrete.” There was another set-back when a subcontractor poured concrete six inches off from where it should have been, Zappas said. “We should have most of our concrete building slab for the bigger building next week,” she said. “So that’s kind of big.”

ATASCADERO’S DANCING WITH OUR STARS

Vonderheide’s Latest Challenge is DWOS By GRENDA ERNST For the Atascadero News

Fatte’s Pizza, located in the Virginia Plaza at 5735 El Camino Real, recently closed its doors after owner Darryl Allan claimed to have been the victim of multiple coordinated crimes. Photo by Connor Allen

Atascadero Fatte’s Closes Doors Amidst Alleged Financial Turmoil Owner promises to reopen this month STAFF REPORT ATASCADERO — Fans of Fatte’s Pizza in Atascadero were surprised and saddened when the establishment unexpectedly closed its doors at the end of January. Employees were sent home without paychecks and with atascaderonews.com

a promise that they would have their jobs back as soon as the store reopened, according to former employee Jeff Simoini who worked as a delivery driver for the business beginning in late December. Patrons were again surprised when Fatte’s owner Darryl Allan left a lengthy note on

LOCAL NEWS

LOCAL NEWS

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the front doors of the business this week outlining his reasons for closing the store, which included him being the alleged victim of identity theft, fraud and harassment by a group of unnamed individuals. CONTINUED ON PAGE A10

SPORTS

Dianna Vonderheide, 2020 Dancing With O ur Stars Community Star, is representing the North County Economic Foundation. Dianna was enrolled in the Foundation’s 2017 Leadership Program and has been active with the Foundation since, currently serving on the Board of Directors. Dianna is oriented to community service and is vice president of the Templeton Economic Foundation, supporting Templeton Schools. She is a real estate broker and owns Nest Central Coast Realty. Dianna is a native Californian and has lived in SLO County since high school. She and her husband of 15 years have two children, 11-year-old Emery and 9-year-old Berkeley. She is an adventurous person, always exploring new ways to challenge herself. She shares that she has

ENTERTAINMENT

jumped out of an airplane, and traveled to many countries, looking for new experiences. She loves coaching boys’ soccer, which she has done for the past five years — an adventure in itself — and counts working out, travel, wine, and time with family and friends as her favorite activities. Although she does not have much dance experience, it is no surprise that Dianna is ready to challenge herself as a Community Star. She notes that she admires the mission of DWOS and that she also finds the show an excellent way to support the Economic Foundation. She is finding the preparation of her dance exciting and nerve-wracking and credits her choreographer, Kara Frenzel, for her amazing support. In her third year as choreographer for a Community Star, Kara is once again working with a Star CONTINUED ON PAGE A10

WEATHER

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PROP 13 EXPLAINED Know what’s on your ballot this election | A2

STAGNANT ENROLLMENT ATHLETES OF THE YEAR Budgetary difficulties arise Join Connor Allen in for PRJUSD | A4 choosing top athletes | B1

RHONE RANGERS Momentum builds with 78 wineries involved | B3

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